Astros' Cole scratched moments before start with hamstring issue

Houston Astros All-Star right-hander Gerrit Cole was scratched minutes before his start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday due to right hamstring discomfort, the team announced.

Following a brief delay between games for the scheduled doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field, Cole started with his usual warmup routine in the Astros' bullpen. Moments before the second game began, however, he stopped throwing and left the bullpen, walking directly into the clubhouse. The Astros said Cole experienced the discomfort during the bullpen session.

Chris Devenski quickly began to warm up after Cole departed and made the emergency start for Houston. Devenski allowed three runs (one earned) in two innings of work and took the loss in an eventual 4-1 White Sox victory.

Cole didn't speak to reporters following the game, according to Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet. Manager A.J. Hinch was optimistic that his All-Star starter won't miss much time because of the issue.

"We'll get him tested even further and see where this takes us, but he doesn't think it's that serious," Hinch told Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. "I'm glad he told us and we hope that it's mild."

Cole is in the midst of his best major-league season. The 28-year-old entered play Tuesday having struck out a league-leading 226 batters to go along with a 2.87 ERA, 3.11 FIP, and 0.98 WHIP across 156 2/3 innings.